Uses

The advantages of plant fibre sponges over synthetic products made from hydrocarbon derivatives and other sponges

Luffa or plant fibre bath sponges have many properties that set them apart and ahead of synthetic alternatives: - Unlike synthetic sponges, luffas leave no harmful residue on
your skin. - The luffa production process respects the environment, unlike synthetic sponges which are manufactured using petroleum-based products. –

Luffas are not manufactured; they are grown naturally in the soil. Synthetic sponges, however, are manufactured in industrial conditions by machines that consume a lot of energy usually from
non-renewable sources.

Cellulose sponges: - as the word suggests, cellulose is extracted from trees, a process that requires a lot of energy and involves the use of chemical products in order to break
down the wood fibres. Cellulose does not have a fibrous structure and the sponges feel very different to luffas. As a result, cellulose sponges do not have the therapeutic qualities that are
typical of natural luffa sponges.

Sea sponges: - Sponges, or porifera, are marine animals. They were thought to be plants until 1765 when it was discovered that they have internal currents of water and they were
recognised as animals. They use intracellular digestion.
Sea sponges are organisms that filter water. What we use as sponges are the soft parts of the animal’s skeleton. To prepare sea sponges for the commercial market, first they must be collected;
then the sponges are treated in order to fade their colour and finally they are dried. This process is both costly and damaging to the seas where the sponges are harvested. Furthermore, sea
sponge cultivation is significantly more complicated than the process by which luffa plants are grown. Sea sponges live on reefs which can be damaged when the sponges are being picked.

The main advantage of luffas, compared to these other sponges, are as follows: